And the following quote tells you what you need to know as far as how the Mariners grew to view Milton Bradley, who was designated for assignment on Monday to make room for outfielder Carlos Peguero on the roster.

“The situation with Milton was that we just felt Milton was not part of our future and he is not part of our present,” Zduriencik said. “Therefore, that move was made.”

Well, that’s pretty definitive, isn’t it? Zduriencik said there was no particular tipping point that forced the Bradley decision, though his performance at the plate and in left field over the weekend certainly couldn’t have helped.

Honestly, if the guy wasn’t due $12 million this season, the decision to DFA him would likely have come long before Monday.

Bradley was hitting just .218 and was a consistent liability in the outfield, turning in perhaps his worst effort of the season in Sunday’s loss. He botched a leaping attempt to catch a fly ball in the fourth inning, then made an awful throw to home plate later in the inning that led to a Chicago run and ultimately cost the Mariners the game.

And then there was the temper. Bradley was ejected twice from games in the last 10 days, including an incident last weekend in Boston in which he made contact with umpire Gerry Davis, which led to a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

Don’t forget the off-field stuff, too. Bradley was arrested in January on suspicion of making criminal threats to a woman (later revealed to be his wife), though criminal charges were not filed and the Mariners made clear at the time that they still weren’t giving up on him. (CORRECTED)

The Mariners had already allowed Bradley to take a leave of absence during the 2010 season to deal with personal issues, and seemed insistent on sticking with him until they could no longer justify it.

Some believe that time came long ago. But now it’s obvious to pretty much everyone that Bradley’s time in Seattle simply needed to end.

Zduriencik said he is always evaluating where his team is at, where it’s headed and what pieces are necessary to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.

And Bradley was no longer necessary. Zduriencik said he felt that way, manager Eric Wedge felt that way, and both Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong were supportive of Zduriencik’s decision when he explained it to them.

“In our estimation, he did not fit,” Zduriencik said of Bradley. “And therefore this decision was made.”

Enter outfielders Mike Wilson and Peguero. Wilson will make his Major League debut when he plays in a game, which should be pretty soon now that the Mariners have jettisoned both of their left fielders. Zduriencik said both Wilson and Peguero will see time in left field, and that Michael Saunders will continue to man center field until Franklin Gutierrez is healthy enough to return to the team.

The moves also give Seattle some more power, one of the primary reasons Zduriencik pulled the trigger. Wilson was hitting .381 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 16 games at Triple-A Tacoma. Peguero was hitting .282 with four homers, 16 RBI and six doubles in 25 games.

The hope on Seattle’s end is that one of these guys — ideally both — can add the kind of pop that Bradley was expected to bring when the team traded Carlos Silva for him prior to the 2010 season.

Zduriencik said he still thinks Bradley can be productive at the Major League level — “I hope someone gives him the opportunity” — but it’s clear that he’d exhausted his opportunity in Seattle.

“At the end of the day, we were looking for a little more production, and as a result we decided to make this move and that’s why we did it,” Zduriencik said. “Here we are.”